BlackBerry unveils new mid-market Leap smartphone

BARCELONA/TORONTO, March 3 (Reuters) - BlackBerry unveiled a
new mid-market smartphone on Tuesday dubbed the BlackBerry Leap
that is set to replace the Z3 device launched a year ago, in a
move to woo buyers in certain emerging markets where BlackBerry
still has a fairly large client base.

The Waterloo, Ontario-based company said the phone, unveiled
at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, would initially
hit stores in U.S and European markets around April and be
priced around $275.

The company also said it planned to roll out two more models
over the course of the next months, both with a keyboard.

One will be a high-end smartphone with what Blackberry
called "a dual curve all touch display" with a keyboard behind a
slide. That may refer to the sort of curved screen featured in
Samsung's latest Galaxy smartphone.

"We don't have a code name for it but I call it The Slide,"
BlackBerry Chief Executive John Chen told media in
Barcelona. "It will come some time this year," he added without
giving a specific date.

BlackBerry, once a must-have device for business executives
and government officials because of its pioneering secure email
service, has haemorrhaged market share to Apple's
iPhone and rivals running on Google's Android
software.

In a bid to remain relevant, the company has pivoted in the
last year to focus much more on its software business and core
strengths such as data security. However, the company has
stressed it remains committed to its devices business.

At MWC last year, BlackBerry unveiled the Z3, priced at
under $200 and built as part of a tie-up with FIH Mobile
, the Hong Kong-listed unit of Taiwanese electronics
company Foxconn Technology Co. The Z3 was aimed at
reviving BlackBerry sales in emerging markets such as Indonesia,
but failed to make much of an impact.

With the new devices, BlackBerry hopes to fight its way back
in the smartphone segment. "We expect to stabilize revenue and
return to growth," Chen said, declining to give a time frame.

Earlier this week at MWC, BlackBerry announced it planned to
expand its cross-platform strategy by bringing features
including the much-admired BlackBerry Hub and its virtual
keyboard across to devices powered by rival platforms such as
Android, Windows and iOS.
(Editing by Mark Potter)